The Orthodox Christian 'Welcome Home' Network
Transition by Fr. John Whiteford As my doubts about Protestantism increased, I found myself in a very unpleasant situation. As an associate pastor, I had certain responsibilities, which included leading a small group on Sunday nights, and also occasionally preaching on Sunday morning. I continued to fulfill these duties, but was increasingly less convinced about [...]
by Fr. John Whiteford Around the time I began digging into Oden’s “Systematic Theology,” I received 2 books that Fr. Anthony Nelson had suggested I read if I wanted to understand more about the Orthodox Church: ”Orthodox Dogmatic Theology”, by Fr. Michael Pomazansky, and “Becoming Orthodox”, by Fr. Peter Gillquist. I was struck by many of [...]
by Fr. John Whiteford However, when I began to seriously study the writings of the Methodist theologian Thomas Oden, I realized that my new theological method wasn’t a new method at all – it was only new to me. Much of the material I was assigned to read while at SNU was a labor to [...]
Discovering Tradition by Fr. John Whiteford There were several things that I studied in depth that began to open my eyes to the fundamental flaws in Protestantism, and also to the importance of Tradition: Textual Criticism, Empiricism and its role in Protestant Biblical Scholarship, the question of the inspiration of Scripture, the works of Thomas [...]
An Associate Pastor and Pro-Life Activist by Fr. John Whiteford The new Nazarene Church, that I began attending seemed like the ideal I had been looking for. It was started by the initiative of the District Superintendent (who functions a bit like a diocesan bishop) with the intention of attracting people who were inclined to [...]
by Fr. John Whiteford Back to Square One Eventually, it began to dawn on me that I was where I was because I had turned away from God, and so I began to repent. I finally began to again feel a peace and a joy that eventually overcame my depression, and got me out of [...]
by Fr. John Whiteford One of the more ironic moments of my life occurred on May 20th, 2007. I was standing in front of the Kremlin in Moscow. I was by then a priest, and so was attired accordingly in the typical black riassa, pectoral cross, and skufia of a Russian Priest. A family from [...]
by John Anderson I was chrismated and welcomed into the Orthodox Catholic Church on February 2nd 2013, The Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. I am very glad to be welcomed home into the arms of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church known as the Orthodox Catholic Church, the Church of the New [...]
by Fr. Martin Watt I was born of Methodist and Baptist parents in the mid 1960s. I was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, but grew up in Jackson, Tennessee, near Memphis. I was christened in the Methodist Church at birth. I have the distinct honor of being the only person, to my knowledge, to have failed [...]
by Gary Summers I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18 My journey to Orthodoxy began about 12 years ago in St Petersburg, Russia. My wife and I were there in the process of adopting two children when I toured the ancient Orthodox cathedral of St [...]
English